Seems like no more good Pots for amps.........

Tanax said:
I agree with this. I think the issue is that you're paying a pretty HEFTY amount over a Marshall here to get those features built-in.

The PPIMV won't really let you practice in your apartment so you'll need an attenuator anyway (and most want that either way). An attenuator can also work with ALL your amps, not being built into just one amp. I'm convinced that a separate attenuator is way superior in all ways (except portability) to having a master volume.

The bright switches are cool, but nothing that can't be done with a €200 EQ pedal or TS.

The variac is the only thing that would be difficult to add afterwards.
But to pay €3600 for the Friedman Plex vs €1600 for the Marshall 1987x is, again, a HEFTY amount for the little it gives. That's €2000 extra.
Click to expand...
It's 2700 for the Plex, not 3600

www.andertons.co.uk

Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head

Buy the Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head at Andertons Music Co!
www.andertons.co.uk www.andertons.co.uk

But yes, the Friedman is not a budget amp. That's not their market at all.

I think it's one thing is people to say "not for me" or "I'd rather buy a Marshall instead", that's normal. No amp is for everyone.

This thread was not about that though, people are saying "it's crap" without even trying one because they didn't like the PCB in the picture. Very different thing.

TBH, I still haven't found a Friedman amp that I kept long term. I had many of them, but none of them were keepers in the long run. I think I liked the Runt the best, which is also their cheapest. Go figure.:idk
Marshalls? I have 5 of them and they're not going anywhere. So maybe the Friedmans are not for me either. But they're not crap or poorly built just because it uses a PCB. That's internet nonsense.
 
Last edited:
GuitarBilly74 said:
It's 2700 for the Plex, not 3600

www.andertons.co.uk

Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head

Buy the Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head at Andertons Music Co!
www.andertons.co.uk www.andertons.co.uk

But yes, the Friedman is not a budget amp. That's not their market at all.

I think it's one thing is people to say "not for me" or "I'd rather buy a Marshall instead", that's normal. No amp is for everyone.

This thread was not about that though, people are saying "it's crap" without even trying one because they didn't like the PCB in the picture. Very different thing.

TBH, I still haven't found a Friedman amp that I kept long term. I had many of them, but none of them were keepers in the long run. I think I liked the Runt the best, which is also their cheapest. Go figure.:idk
Marshalls? I have 5 of them and they're not going anywhere. So maybe the Friedmans are not for me either. But they're not crap or poorly built just because it uses a PCB. That's internet nonsense.
Click to expand...
Nobody is saying pcb is a problem but it is what is directly mounted on it.
 
GuitarBilly74 said:
It's 2700 for the Plex, not 3600

www.andertons.co.uk

Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head

Buy the Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head at Andertons Music Co!
www.andertons.co.uk www.andertons.co.uk

But yes, the Friedman is not a budget amp. That's not their market at all.

I think it's one thing is people to say "not for me" or "I'd rather buy a Marshall instead", that's normal. No amp is for everyone.

This thread was not about that though, people are saying "it's crap" without even trying one because they didn't like the PCB in the picture. Very different thing.

TBH, I still haven't found a Friedman amp that I kept long term. I had many of them, but none of them were keepers in the long run. I think I liked the Runt the best, which is also their cheapest. Go figure.:idk
Marshalls? I have 5 of them and they're not going anywhere. So maybe the Friedmans are not for me either. But they're not crap or poorly built just because it uses a PCB. That's internet nonsense.
Click to expand...
I don’t think folks complain about the PCB as much rather than questioning the pricing.
 
Oh side note a good decade before I worked for THD they had an amp called the Plexi mod that was built off the same 50watter of DF’s and back in 91 it retailed for 2k which for a PCB amp was just outrageous.
To put this in some sort of reference I bought an xtc 212 combo in 94 for 2500 new, and a T-verb 212 combo same day for 1700
 
Orvillain said:
It is pretty funny to me that Dave referenced Fryette. I love the Sig:X amp I used to have, but it was far from plain sailing. I had quite a few issues:

- First one I bought turned up D.O.A
- Waited 2 or 3 days for a replacement to turn up.
- The replacement was fine, but at gigs would often change channels completely by itself lmao.
- I had a rectifier tube go on me, which introduced a shit ton of distortion into the amp. I didn't know this at the time though, and I fucked around for about 2minutes trying an AY7 tube in V1 of the preamp. Fryette revoked my warranty because of it. To this day I still don't really understand why they'd do that.

Not really relevant to the Plex. But I just had to giggle to myself a bit at the idea that Fryette amps are some paragon of quality.
Click to expand...
I've been tempted by a cheap used Sig:X a few times, but honestly I am unlikely to buy Fryette products again.

The PS-100 I own had low end rumble at idle. Fryette support claimed it's normal ground hum at 120 Hz but stopped answering after I said it is measurable at 130-180 Hz. I later found out that the channel footswitching was also busted.

I was packing the PS-100 and managed to drop it on its feet from about 10 cm height. No visible outer or internal damage. Still powered up, loadbox worked but no signal would go to poweramp.

I tried to get it fixed locally, but the tech couldn't figure it out. They tried to ask for schematics from Fryette but Fryette didn't answer. I tried contacting them but got no answer. Part of this was due to COVID lockdown at their end so I don't blame them. What I blame them for is not following up after they are back in business. So I've still got a busted PS-100 floating around, that was thankfully paid for by home insurance.

I still want to get it fixed at some point but dread trying to get Fryette support to send schematics to the tech when they claim they never received any emails from them after I provided them with the address the tech used with me.

I think the reputation for quality comes from Steven Fryette being fairly vocal online and seemingly knowing what he's doing and talking about. Their support is the real issue though. I just don't understand how they can be so bad at it, even if they are juggling other tasks day to day. How hard is tracking and answering emails?
 
laxu said:
I've been tempted by a cheap used Sig:X a few times, but honestly I am unlikely to buy Fryette products again.

The PS-100 I own had low end rumble at idle. Fryette support claimed it's normal ground hum at 120 Hz but stopped answering after I said it is measurable at 130-180 Hz. I later found out that the channel footswitching was also busted.

I was packing the PS-100 and managed to drop it on its feet from about 10 cm height. No visible outer or internal damage. Still powered up, loadbox worked but no signal would go to poweramp.

I tried to get it fixed locally, but the tech couldn't figure it out. They tried to ask for schematics from Fryette but Fryette didn't answer. I tried contacting them but got no answer. Part of this was due to COVID lockdown at their end so I don't blame them. What I blame them for is not following up after they are back in business. So I've still got a busted PS-100 floating around, that was thankfully paid for by home insurance.

I still want to get it fixed at some point but dread trying to get Fryette support to send schematics to the tech when they claim they never received any emails from them after I provided them with the address the tech used with me.

I think the reputation for quality comes from Steven Fryette being fairly vocal online and seemingly knowing what he's doing and talking about. Their support is the real issue though. I just don't understand how they can be so bad at it, even if they are juggling other tasks day to day. How hard is tracking and answering emails?
Click to expand...
I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that at heart, he's an amp tech, not a businessman. Probably not quite as savvy as Dave Friedman is.. but really, they're all techs first and business people second... and perhaps that part of the job just doesn't come naturally to them - which is why they end up jumping into bed with B.A.D I suppose.
 
Orvillain said:
I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that at heart, he's an amp tech, not a businessman. Probably not quite as savvy as Dave Friedman is.. but really, they're all techs first and business people second... and perhaps that part of the job just doesn't come naturally to them - which is why they end up jumping into bed with B.A.D I suppose.
Click to expand...
Yeah the guitar industry is full of people who are good at what they do but terrible at running a business, whether it's luthiers, pedal builders, amp makers etc. The issue is always about communication, and that makes people lose confidence. When called out on it, doing nothing to improve is just stupid. Get a ticketing system, figure out how to answer emails more promptly (e.g devote a few hours every two days or something) etc.

B.A.D is a good idea for consolidating manufacturing across boutique brands. Everyone is going to need roughly the same kind of cabinets/headshells, metal boxes for amps, tubes, transformers, components etc. so they can probably get some good savings from buying materials and components at a larger scale.
 
GuitarBilly74 said:
It's 2700 for the Plex, not 3600

www.andertons.co.uk

Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head

Buy the Friedman Plex Vintage Series 50w Amp Head at Andertons Music Co!
www.andertons.co.uk www.andertons.co.uk
Click to expand...

Eh.. You do realize that there are different prices in Europe? UK is not the only country in Europe.
www.thomann.de

Friedman Plex Head

Friedman Plex Head, Tube Amplifier Head for Electric Guitar; captures the genuine Plexi tone and feel of Dave's revered 1968 JMP Super Lead; Lead and Normal channels with their own Volume controls perfectly replicate Vintage British non...
www.thomann.de www.thomann.de

But I guess I rounded it wrong, I just did it in my head. Current exchange rates put this at €3400. Closer to 3600 than your 2700. I don't even know where you got that from? The site you linked to is in GBP £, not Euro €. And even then, the site you linked priced the Plex at £2800 so I don't know where you got the 2700 price from to be honest..

Since I double checked that, I also double checked the 1987x price, which is currently around €1500, not 1600. So still almost €2000 (€1900 to be exact) difference that I originally wrote.
 
Orvillain said:
I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that at heart, he's an amp tech, not a businessman. Probably not quite as savvy as Dave Friedman is.. but really, they're all techs first and business people second... and perhaps that part of the job just doesn't come naturally to them - which is why they end up jumping into bed with B.A.D I suppose.
Click to expand...
As an Amp Designer?
Stevie was making the Pitbull when Friedman was still schlepping gear for Brauer’s cartage biz.

I’d be interested to understand what makes one savvier than the other.

Especially seeing that all those high gainers are really variations on a theme.
 
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